My Way Skill Book
Chapter 44
The guild master of Evergreen, Hong Jigwang, could not comprehend the situation that had just unfolded before his eyes.
Just ten seconds ago, he had been in a state of intense concentration, observing to see just how skilled the S-rank hunters brought from Atlas were.
The five hunters carefully selected from his own guild were experts who had succeeded in a 'full clear'—eliminating all monsters in multiple locations within a 6-star dungeon.
Yet the opposing side, with just two people, had rendered four of them combat-incapacitated in just ten seconds and caused the remaining one to lose all will to fight.
On top of that, the two from Atlas did not have a single scratch on them.
Yu Chohui, the vice guild master of Evergreen, was also frozen stiff, unable to hide even a hint of surprise.
Hong Jigwang looked at the guild master of Atlas. In his eyes was a question: where had he brought such people from?
To Hong Jigwang's silent question, the guild master of Atlas merely winked.
***
About one week ago, the day it became known that two first-grade guilds of the Anti-Tyrant Alliance had betrayed them.
I revealed my ability to the guild master and vice guild master.
And I called Uncle Gang Il and Hyeri, who had already known about my ability, and the five of us headed to a 7-star dungeon.
It was a dungeon where magic stones that considerably raised stats dropped in various types, but it was unpopular because the monsters were too strong.
Kwoong!
Uncle's axe missed and shattered the ground.
"Kraaack!"
A monster with the face of a leopard and the body of a human leaped into the air. Razor-like claws aimed for Uncle's head.
I immediately swung my spear. Since it was in 'Thunder Spear' state, golden lightning fired forth.
Crackle!
The monster struck by lightning was knocked backward, but it quickly came to its senses and tried to flee on all fours.
"Where do you think you're going!"
However, the vice guild master, who had quickly cut off its escape route, held a massive shield in front and slammed into the monster.
Uncle and I immediately rushed at the monster and delivered finishing blows to its head and stomach.
After the monster breathed its last, we gathered around the corpse and prayed.
"Please, please, please……."
Hyeri, her hands clasped together, muttered with her eyes squeezed shut. Everyone's faces showed desperation—and exhaustion.
Moments later, when the corpse began to disappear, everyone's faces brightened.
"It dropped!"
Uncle shouted.
In the place where the corpse had vanished, magic stones of various colors were laid out.
"Haa."
I let out a sigh of relief.
It was finally a magic stone drop after three hours inside the dungeon.
'Even with Drop Enhancement active, what shitty odds. Well, the quality makes up for it enough, I guess.'
The magic stones left by the leopard exuded a clear light, unlike the murky ones that came from mid-level dungeons.
"At this rate, it'll be touch and go to raise our stats to the target values."
"We'll have no choice but to move even more diligently."
Uncle and the vice guild master said with exhausted expressions.
After hunting for several more hours, we decided to take a break.
I used that time to refine the magic stones we had gathered. Since the base quality itself was good, magic stones with the
Instead of using the magic stone that raised the Magic stat by 5 directly, I fed it to Hesto's Bracelet.
Then the bracelet absorbed the magic stone and glowed.
[The bracelet's MP capacity increases.]
When I touched Hesto's Bracelet, the increased capacity was displayed.
------------------
[Hesto's Bracelet] (Bound to: I Hwajin)
Capacity: 120/500 (MP)
(300 → 500)
Charge time: 50/1h
(Usage restriction)
None
------------------
'If I use the magic stone directly, the MP increase is 50… so this is a whopping four times the efficiency.'
Until I hit the maximum MP capacity of 1200, it was definitely more beneficial to invest Magic magic stones into the bracelet.
After that as well, we rushed into magic stone hunting, loath to spend even the time needed to sleep or eat.
The goal was to raise each person's main stat above 20.
It was a decision made because our current stats were insufficient to face the Tyrant Guild's SS-rank hunters.
I wanted to aim for all stats above 20 if possible, but it was impossible due to the absolute lack of time.
The reason we insisted on the high-difficulty 7-star dungeon was, firstly, that it was more efficient compared to dungeons of 6 stars or below, and secondly, to elevate our combat abilities.
Fighting life-or-death battles against powerful monsters, we learned combat techniques that didn't rely solely on stats and how to coordinate with one another.
We had repeated days where we were so exhausted that we would rather have been knocked flat by monsters, continuing until dawn today. As a result, everyone except the Guild Master and me succeeded in raising their main stats to the target of 20 or above.
Uncle Gang Il, our damage dealer, saw his Strength rise from 13 to 26.
The vice guild master, our tank, raised his Vitality, which had been close to 20 to begin with, to a whopping 30, pushing his HP to 600.
Hyeri, our buffer & debuffer, raised her Magic to 21 and Mental Strength to 20. Because she raised two stats, her increase wasn't as high as the others'.
I, an all-rounder, focused mainly on Vitality, Strength, and Sense. As a result, I reached Vitality 16, Strength 20, and Sense 16.
As for Magic, thanks to Hesto's Bracelet, my MP capacity jumped from 300 to 800.
Mental Strength, which increases MP recovery amount and recovery speed, was postponed until next time.
Even though I had massively raised my stats in a period that would normally be impossible thanks to my Refining skill, I wasn't confident whether I could win against seven SS-rank hunters of the Tyrant Guild.
Because both the vice guild master and Hyeri had said in one voice, 'According to rumors, the average stats of the Tyrant Guild's SS-rank hunters are 20.'
However, the preparations to win were not yet over.
To get a little closer to victory, I had to put in one more effort.
***
On the day of the match.
A temporary arena had been set up inside a colossal crater that had once been a bustling district but was now reduced to ruins after a monster attack.
Calling it an arena was a stretch—it was merely tents set up for each faction around the crater, packed with hunters, civilians, and reporters who had come to watch the match.
They were all people invited or called by the Tyrant Guild.
Their goal was to show the whole world the thorough crushing of the forces that still had not come to their senses and dared to raise their flag against the Tyrant.
Inside the Tyrant Guild's tent, seven SS-rank hunters were gathered.
Even with the match right before their eyes, they were overflowing with leisure—fidgeting with their phones, trimming their nails, even drinking alcohol.
They looked as though the thought of losing never crossed their minds.
Among them was also the SS-rank hunter known by the epithet 'Magician', Jeong Cheonyeol.
"You know, but today your role is important."
The female hunter holding a long staff, Im Jiyeon, spoke while looking at Jeong Cheonyeol.
"Don't ever forget the reason we put you, still inexperienced, into the match."
Jeong Cheonyeol clicked his tongue inwardly but replied with a smile that he understood.
The role given to him was to turn the opposing team into a spectacle using his Magic Barrier and Purgatory skill.
"Ugh."
Recalling the combination of Magic Barrier and Purgatory skill, Jeong Cheonyeol placed a hand on his forehead with a pained expression.
'Why do I keep getting headaches these days? Is it because I lost my memories to that monster back then?'
He felt extremely uneasy, a contradictory feeling that he seemed to need to recall something, yet didn't want to.
"Excuse me."
Just then, a young man wearing a cap and headphones on his head, clutching a small booklet in his hand, approached beneath the tent. He was wearing a vest emblazoned with a broadcasting station's logo.
"About the filming schedule you handed out earlier, would it be alright if I asked for a quick verification just once……."
Wearing his cap pulled down low, he spoke while bowing his head almost to the point of prostration.
It was only natural, facing hunters who could kill a person with a mere flick of their fingers.
"You guys handle that yourselves! Don't be a nuisance!"
Sure enough, one of the Tyrant Guild's hunters shouted.
"Gasp, I'm sorry!"
He quickly bowed his head. Yet even after that, he did not leave the tent.
"Do you still have business?"
Im Jiyeon asked.
"Um, I know this is a terribly rude request, but……."
The man raised his head and spoke while trembling.
"I-I'm actually a fan of the Tyrant Guild. C-could you please shake my hand just once?"
The Tyrant Guild's hunters were left speechless.
"I actually used to be a D-rank h-hunter in the past, but I quit because I had no ability……. The Tyrant Guild has always been my goal; I wanted to join because there are so many incredibly strong people, and among them, all of you here today—no, you hunters—are the strongest in the Tyrant Guild……."
At his incoherent rambling, some hunters burst into laughter with a 'pfft', while some were left speechless.
"Crazy bastard."
The hunter who had shouted earlier looked down at the kneeling man with eyes as if he were looking at trash.
"A D-rank bastard who doesn't know his place set his sights on the Tyrant Guild?"
"Don't be too harsh. It's common knowledge that our guild is a place every hunter is desperate to get into."
The female hunter who had been trimming her nails giggled as she approached. Then she crouched down in front of the still-kneeling man and gripped his wrist.
"Here. Is this good enough?"
She grabbed the man's hand and shook it lightly.
"Th-th-thank you!"
Whether he was truly grateful or not, his face seemed to practically glow.
The hunters who saw his over-the-top reaction looked amused.
"Why don't you guys hold his hand too? He's so happy."
At the female hunter's words, several hunters extended their hands to the man. Each time, the man made a fuss, offering words of praise.
The hunter with a sword laughed for a while, then grabbed the man by his collar.
"Uweh!?"
The man flusteredly grabbed the thick hand that held his collar, as if trying to pull it away.
"What the hell are you doing, punk?"
Kim Ujin twitched at the corners of his eyes.
"W-what do you mean……."
"Think about it. Any sane person would know they could die in an instant here, so what kind of crazy bastard crawls in just to shake hands?"
The man grabbed by his collar wore a terrified face.
"You're a spy from the other side, aren't you?"
"N-no! I-I just really respect you hunters……."
"Whether you're a hunter from their side or not, we'll know once we check."
The female hunter holding a long staff approached. She pulled a piece of paper from her pocket. Printed on that paper were face photos and profiles of the seven members participating from the Anti-Tyrant Alliance team.
Originally, the participating members should have been kept secret until right before the match, but the Tyrant Guild somehow already knew the information.
"Take off his cap."
At Im Jiyeon's words, Kim Ujin roughly snatched off the cap the man was wearing.
"Ah."
When the man's face was revealed, Im Jiyeon compared it with the paper, scrutinizing him.
"……He's at least not a hunter printed here."
"Then is he a hunter affiliated with that guild?"
Just then, a vibrating sound came from the front pocket of the vest the man was wearing.
"Answer it."
At Kim Ujin's command, the man answered the phone while trembling.
["Hey! We're busy as hell, where are you slacking off!? Hurry up! You want to get fired!?"]
Even though it wasn't on speaker mode, the middle-aged man's shout spread throughout the entire tent.
Kim Ujin snatched the phone and checked the address book. Various titles were listed: PD, directing director, lighting director, and so on.
"……He was really from the broadcasting station?"
Kim Ujin made a dumbfounded expression and released the man's collar.
The man who had plopped down on the ground was still trembling as he looked up at Kim Ujin.
"Disappear."
Im Jiyeon spat out curtly toward the man. The man picked up his phone and escaped the tent like a rabbit fleeing a tiger's den.
"The world is full of all kinds of crazies. He really came just to shake hands?"
Kim Ujin made a dumbfounded expression, and Im Jiyeon looked in the direction the man had run off, letting out an "Hmph" of suspicion.
***
"He's back!"
"How did it go!?"
Hyeri and Gang Il shouted as they saw the man entering the tent. It was the man who had been in the Tyrant Guild's tent moments ago.
The man grinned.
"Success."
The moment he said that, the man's body and face began to change as if by CGI.
A moment later, the man had become Hwajin.
"I almost got caught, but I survived thanks to a timely call from the broadcasting station people."
Hwajin took off the vest bearing the broadcasting station's logo and approached a corner of the tent.
There, a man lay unconscious, as if he had fainted. The man's face was perfectly identical to the one Hwajin had before regaining her original form.
"I succeeded in making contact with five out of seven. One was someone I already knew, and the other one wouldn't lay a hand on me no matter what, probably because he's very cautious."
Hwajin said so and summoned a book.
'I spent 25,000 EXP, so I definitely need to get my money's worth and then some.'
On the back pages of the book, the hunters' statuses were floating up.